The Nation's Premier Civil and Human Rights Coalition

Cosponsor the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA)

Advocacy Letter - 04/24/13

Source:The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human RightsRecipient:U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives

Dear Member of Congress:

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the undersigned organizations urge you to become a cosponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). It is time for Congress to act on this crucial civil rights legislation.

Our organizations are dedicated to the principle that every worker should be judged solely on his or her merits. Hardworking Americans should not be kept from supporting their families and making a positive contribution to the economic life of our nation because of characteristics that have no bearing whatsoever on their ability to do a job. However, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans continue to experience high rates of discrimination in the workplace based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Without a comprehensive federal law like ENDA, these workers lack employment protections in a majority of states. Only 21 states’ laws prohibit discrimination in employment based on sexual orientation, and only 16 also do so based on gender identity, meaning that it is legal to fire members of the LGBT community in 29 and 34 states, respectively. ENDA prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in most workplaces. The time has long since come to end this injustice for LGBT Americans and pass ENDA.

America’s corporate leaders support ENDA’s fair-minded approach. Eighty-eight percent of Fortune 500 companies have included sexual orientation protections in their workplace policies and more than fifty-seven percent of them also prohibit discrimination based on gender identity. Corporate America is leading the way in workplace fairness.

Public support for ENDA is strong. A June 2011 poll from Green berg Quinlan Rosner Research found that 73 percent of likely voters support protecting LGBT people from discrimination in employment. It is clear that Americans know that ENDA represents a measured and pragmatic response to unjust prejudice and discrimination.

We hope you will cosponsor and support this historic legislation. Please contact Rob Randhava, Senior Counsel at The Leadership Conference, at (202) 466-6058 if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

A. Philip Randolph Institute

AFL-CIO

Alliance for Retired Americans

American Association for Affirmative Action

American Association of People with Disabilities

American Association of University Women

American Civil Liberties Union

American Federation of Government Employees, AFL-CIO

American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees

American Federation of Teachers

American Jewish Committee

American Psychological Association

American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

Americans for Democratic Acton, Inc.

Amnesty International USA

Anti-Defamation League

Asian American Justice Center

Association of Flight Attendants - CWA

Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law

B’nai B’rith International

Catholics for Equality

Center for American Progress Action Fund

Center for Women Policy Studies

CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers

COLAGE: People with a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, or Queer Parent

Communications Workers of America

Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund

Disciples Justice Action Network

Equal Justice Society

Equality Matters

Family Equality Council

Freedom to Work Advocacy Fund

Friends Committee on National Legislation

Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network

GetEQUAL

Human Rights Campaign

Immigration Equality Action Fund

International Foundation for Gender Education

International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW)